4 minute read
Aoife McDowell
Columnist
Aoife McDowell,
Sync NI
Let’s Talk Tech
Innovation and opportunities: The spotlight continues to shine brightly on Northern Ireland’s technology sector.
While the days may be getting darker this winter, the innovation and opportunities beaming out of Northern Ireland have only shone brighter. The region has set out a number of new and innovative ways to tackle the climate crisis, while the local technology sector continues to go from strength to strength.
AI Con platforms the opportunities for Northern Ireland to lead in AI
The AI Con event returned to Titanic Belfast. The event united world-leading technology professionals and business leaders to examine how artificial intelligence is changing our world and the opportunities and challenges it presents.
The Global AI Index places the UK as the third best country for excelling in investment, innovation and implementation of Artificial Intelligence.
AI Con follows the themes of Applied AI, examining everything from how it can add value to organisations, to the next generation of AI and what startups in the space should know.
The conference featured some of the top figures in the field, with other leading professionals, including from Microsoft and AWS, streaming in from across the globe. Speaking at AI Con, Director of Innovation at Kainos, Tom Gray said: “The UK has an ambitious AI strategy that gives Northern Ireland both the permission to be ambitious and the opportunity to be seen to lead in the application of AI. With Belfast now being a recognised tech hub, and with more and more businesses choosing Northern Ireland, AI Con platformed debate to ignite discussion and the sharing of ideas with a bigger audience.”
Technology, supply chain and engineering roles saw highest salary increases in Northern Ireland in 2021
Technology, engineering and supply chain roles have secured the top salary increases over the past 12 months in Northern Ireland, according to new data released by recruiting company Hays.
In a list of the top 20 roles which received the highest increases, ten were in technology, six were in engineering and manufacturing, three were in procurement, supply chain & logistics, and one was in the legal sector. This compares to a UKwide survey which was dominated by tech, with fifteen of the roles with the highest salary increases in technology, highlighting the high demand for IT professionals across the country.
In Northern Ireland, supply chain managers saw an increase of 18.2%, the highest increase in the top 20, followed by data analysts. Other roles which experienced above average increases included heads of legal, technology product owners and process engineers.
Speaking about the findings, John Moore, Managing Director of Hays in Northern Ireland, said: “The high demand for staff coupled with low levels of skilled talent in a number of sectors means upwards pressure on pay rates is likely to continue into 2022.”
Electric delivery bikes will be taking to Belfast city centre streets following the launch of a zeroemissions delivery service by local company, streetdock.
Funding for the new initiative comes from the Department for Infrastructure’s Sustainable and Active Travel elements of the Department for Communities’ COVID-19 Revitalisation Programme Fund, with Belfast City Council supporting project delivery.
The pilot project, which will operate for one year, offers a sustainable delivery solution for city centrebased business-to-business deliveries.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl, said: “Alongside the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council has developed a bolder vision for the future of the city centre. This vision fundamentally reimagines how our streets and public spaces are used. It looks to create more vibrant, connected and accessible places that appeal to a wide range of people.”
Ms.Nicholl added: “streetdock’s e-cargo delivery service is a great practical example of how innovative thinking can help to transform this collective vision into reality. These non-polluting forms of transport will help lower city centre traffic congestion, supporting key aims of reducing car dominance and prioritising routes for walking, wheeling and cycling through the city centre.”
New research project aims to underpin greener energy use
A new partnership between academia and industry will harness Northern Ireland’s natural geothermal resources to encourage the most efficient use of energy by industrial users such as data centres.
The project funded by Invest NI and led by Ulster University will be supported by industry partners Causeway GT, Atlantic Hub and Enisca.
The project will consider all new renewable energy sources like wind and solar while exploring opportunities and barriers to harnessing Northern Ireland’s geothermal energy resources in the form of natural heat emanating from the earth’s core. The project will also assess the distribution and harvesting of geothermal resources in Northern Ireland’s subsurface, the utilisation of geothermal energy at the surface including conversion to electricity and required policy and legislative framework in Northern Ireland to enable accelerated and sustainable geothermal development.
Speaking about the new project, Professor Neil Hewitt said: “Using our unique geographical location, we are harnessing the geothermal potential in Northern Ireland to help generate and deliver electricity from renewable sources. This partnership launch is timely as nationally, the British Geological Survey has stated that geothermal heating is part of the UK’s net-zero approach, enshrined in COP26.”
